Report: JCP’s Johnson taps former Apple colleagues for new team

By Katherine Boccaccio

New York City -- A Thursday report by the Wall Street Journal said that new J.C. Penney CEO Ron Johnson, who recently left Apple to run the department store chain, is recruiting other former Apple players to join the J.C. Penney team.

According to the report, J.C. Penney is nearing a deal with Michael Kramer, former CFO of Apple Retail from 2000 to 2005 and currently CEO of Kellwood Co., to join J.C. Penney as its COO. WSJ cited people familiar with the matter, and said Kramer will start at Penney effective Dec. 1.

The report also suggested that Johnson will hire former Apple human resources VP Daniel Walker to serve on the J.C. Penney executive team in a yet unnamed position.